Ransomware protection with standard Windows tools

Video tip #54: Protect Windows 10 and 11 against ransomware
Ransomware protection with standard Windows tools

Windows 10 and Windows 11 have built-in ransomware protection. It makes sense to take a closer look at the possibilities of monitored folder access and backup in OneDrive to protect against malware and to activate the options. This ensures more security for your own data.

Around Windows 10 and Windows 11 before ransomware to protect it, it is sufficient in most cases to use the on-board resources. First of all, Windows 10 and Windows 11 have antivirus protection with Microsoft Defender, which also protects very reliably against ransomware. There are also various integrated services that, once activated, ensure that ransomware cannot access the data.

How to protect systems from ransomware with the on-board tools of Windows 11 is shown here in the video tip and in the picture gallery.

If a ransomware attack does occur, the data can be restored from the cloud. Windows 10 and Windows 11 have integrated options for backing up local data to the cloud. If ransomware has encrypted local data, it is easy to recover. In the following article, we will show you how to set it up based on Windows 11. In Windows 10, some of the functions have slightly different names, but they basically work the same way.

Three-tier protection model against ransomware in Windows 10 and Windows 11

Windows 10 and Windows 11 have three levels of protection against ransomware. As antivirus, Microsoft Defender ensures that ransomware is detected and blocked. Everyone else can offer this protection virus scanner take over, but when using Windows 10 or Windows 11, the integrated protection against malware out.

Stage two comes into effect when ransomware gets past Microsoft Defender or the external virus scanner in Windows 10 or Windows 11. If the ransomware then tries to encrypt files, “Controlled Folder Access” blocks them encryption by the ransomware.

If the ransomware also undermines the second level of protection, the third level of protection takes effect. This involves backing up the data to OneDrive. If the ransomware has encrypted the files on the computer, they can be restored quickly and easily via OneDrive.

Check on-board protection against ransomware

In the Windows 11 Settings app, the “privacy and security”. Windows Security provides all the options to protect Windows from malware. Virus & Threat Protection provides the various protections against ransomware.

For Ransomware Protection, the Manage Ransomware Protection link is available. There are two options available here that should be enabled for ransomware protection. The “monitored folder access” ensures that third-party software is not allowed to make any changes to documents in certain folders. This means that even if ransomware is active on the machine, it blocks Windows so that the application cannot encrypt the files in the directories.

The second protective feature is backing up data to OneDrive. This protection represents the third level of protection against ransomware in Windows 10 and Windows 11. This protection must also be set up manually.

How to protect systems from ransomware with the on-board tools of Windows 11 is shown here in the video tip and in the picture gallery.

Use controlled folder access

The “Monitored folder access” only has to be switched on in the “Ransomware protection” area. After that, the protection is immediately active. If applications no longer work properly after activation of protection, the blocked program can be allowed in the same place where activation takes place. Unfortunately, Windows 10 and Windows 11 block applications without any feedback. If you experience problems with applications after activating “Controlled Folder Access”, it makes sense to check in the Settings app whether Windows is blocking the editing program. If this is the case, it can also be activated at this point.

After activation, “Blocking history” shows which programs Windows blocks from accessing the protected documents. Blocked programs can also be unlocked here. The menu item “Allow app through monitored folder access” is also available for this purpose. Here users can manually add applications before Windows blocks them with “Controlled Folder Access”.

A list of allowed programs is neither necessary nor possible, Windows decides for itself which applications are allowed or not. Of course, most Microsoft programs can be used without any problems, including the different versions of Microsoft Office. Additional folders can be added via the “Protected Folders” link. Most standard folders are already stored automatically.

Use OneDrive for ransomware protection

Local data can be backed up to OneDrive in Windows 10 and Windows 11 via “Set up OneDrive”. If ransomware encrypts the backed up data, the data backup available in OneDrive to be able to restore the data. This is the third level of protection against ransomware built into Windows 10 and Windows 11.

After logging in with a Microsoft account or an account from Microsoft 365, you can first select the local folder with which OneDrive synchronises. However, this is not about protection against ransomware, but about general synchronization between Windows and OneDrive.

How to protect systems from ransomware with the on-board tools of Windows 11 is shown here in the video tip and in the picture gallery.

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